Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyers owns all original characters. Dolly Parton and Mindy Smith own the rights to the song used at the bottom of the story. No copyright infringment is intended. No monetary gain was recieved.
A/N: So I was driving home from work and a song came one the radio. One I heard a thousand times before but for some reason tonight the song came out differently. And by singing this song with the new lyrics a back story came out as well.
I did not write this story. The story wrote itself. Ms. Clearwater had something to say wether I wanted to be the one to type it or not.
So here is her story as she wanted it told.
P.S.: Grammar was never really my thing. Any complaints should be directed to the Louisiana Educational Departmart for ever giving me a diploma and saying i was sufficent.
They had started out innocent enough. He was the Alpha, and she his Beta. Nothing more, nothing less.
Then a few days after the "War That Never Was", Leah caught a fresh leech sent. It was one she had never come across before so she knew it wasn't someone on their side. "Ahhh.. so apparently we have a few stragglers." Leah needed a good fight. She was all tense from the almost war and needed to get it out of her system.
It was a nomad traveling alone. The girl couldn't be more than 18 physically. "But knowing their kind, she was prolly best buds with Judas." Leah knew she should prolly raise the alarm to get the others here. But after the almost war Jake gave everyone some time off, she was just in her wolf form to get away from Quil and Jake's play date for Claire and Nessie. Her brother, Seth, and Embry were arguing bout who was the better comics D.C. or Marvel. Leah could only take the grown men Barbie session and the geek wars for so long. It had felt good to get out of her head for a bit, let the wolf take over.
With the leech being so close to raise an alarm now would give her away. Lucky for Leah the wind was coming from the right side of her. So her sent wouldn't give her away and no super sweet burning sent for Leah.
Leah was following the girl about 500 feet back; the leech's brown hair was wavy and came to her hips. She was dressed like your normal hiker. But the speed this girl was doing made her no normal hiker to Leah.
Just as she was about to make the jump to go after the leech, Leah felt someone in her head.
"Leah where are you??" Jacob was phased and looking for her.
"What are you doing?"
Now Leah couldn't help but think that it was a pretty dumb question for her alpha to ask considering that he could see through her eyes and hear her thoughts.
"What does it LOOK like I'm doing JACOB!"
"Get home Leah." That kinda stung for Leah. She considered herself a bit homeless at the moment. She was still trailing the leech and if she didn't make a move soon she was gonna lose her chance.
"Will you shut up and let me do my job?"
"Wait for the others."
"I am perfectly able to do my duty, oh mighty alpha."
And with that Leah made the jump.
Her jaws connected with the leech's neck perfectly making a perfect snap and dismemberment. She went right to the right arm and pulled that off. She went to take the hand off the arm when she heard a dragging noise. The leech's body was dragging itself towards it's head.
"Leah!"
"I've got it! Will you stop backseat fighting!!"
She had taken off the right leg when she felt a tear on her back. And damn did it hurt like hell! Damn leech had scratched her, and a good deep one at that.
"LEAH!"
Now Leah was pissed, she made quick work of tearing the rest of the leech's body apart and putting it all far apart from each other.
It was when she stopped to survey her work that the tear the leech had given her started hurting. Both of her shoulders were bloody. And by the looks at it she was still losing blood.
"I'll be right there! Hold on!!"
As the adrenaline from the kill started leaving her body she started feeling weaker.
Jacob started running as fast as he could now to where Leah showed him she was. Wondering why he never just gave her the alpha command to stay put till back up arrived.
"Cause you're not like that Jake."
"Well after this stunt, maybe I'll start"
Jacob had never run this fast before, but it wasn't fast enough, Leah faded from the wolf brain, she had passed out, human.
"Leah?? SHIT!!"
It was another five minutes before Jake was able to get to Leah. She was human just as he thought. The blood was everywhere, but it was less than he had last seen through Leah's eyes. He did a quick glance at what was left of the vamp, Leah had done a good job at taking it down, once he was sure she was gonna be okay he would get the fire started.
Then Jacob heard a noise that was music to his oversensitive ears. Leah was stirring, slowly regaining consciousness. "Jake?"
Jake phased back into human and lifted her head off the ground. "I'm here Leah, I've got you. Now let me take a look at your back." He carefully assisted her into a sitting position. Already it was halfway healed. Jake thanked whatever deity would care to listen.
"You'll live." Jake reported.
"Sorry to disappoint you." Leah deadpanned. Jacob couldn't help but notice a look of sadness in her eyes as she said this.
"You actually think I'd let you leave me alone. While the geek war is going on"
Leah couldn't help but laugh at that. It felt nice to laugh. She hadn't laughed in a long time.
Once the laughter subsided, Leah couldn't help what happened next. She sighed and leaned into Jacob's chest, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Not letting their past, their present, or their nakedness bother them.
And they just stayed like that for a bit, enjoying the laugh they both needed. "You know Leah, You really scared me there for a while." Leah turned to face Jacob wide-eyed. "You mister Alpha, were scared. Of a lil old girly vamp?" "Of the vamp, no miss Beta. I was not worried about the girly vamp." Jacob placed his hand under Leah's chin to make her look him in the eyes.
"I was worried that I was gonna lose you." And with that Jacob kissed her. He kissed her with a passion Leah had not experienced in a long while. Jacob's kiss didn't surprise Leah. It was Leah's reaction to the kiss that surprised her, they way she placed her tongue at the entrance to his mouth that surprised her. The over powering need she suddenly felt for Jacob. When Jacob allowed her entrance into his mouth and she got to taste him, it was like coming home. And there, amid the scattered remains of the leech. Jacob Black made love to Leah Clearwater.
They both knew it didn't really mean anything. They were both just lost souls. Him stuck waiting for his imprint to grow up and her waiting on whatever the future may bring.
Leah knew they shouldn't be doing this. He wasn't her's to claim. But he was her Alpha, friend, and now somehow, he was her lover.
It never was planned, just whenever the moment was right. They became one. Sometimes her place, she had moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Forks. Sometimes they didn't even make it that far and would consummate their lust right there on the forest floor. How anyone had never found out was a miracle that she prayed would hold on.
Then the day Leah had been dreading for years finally arrived, Nessie wasn't that little girl anymore. She was growing up and Leah knew it wouldn't be much longer until Jacob noticed too. She told herself that she would be okay; that she knew this wasn't a forever deal. She knew that the imprint would hold strong for Jacob and that when the time came Leah would let him go. Let him have his happily ever after.
It still didn't make it hurt any less that while he was in HER bed. With HER in his arms, that it was Nessie's name that came off his lips. She didn't want to, but Leah knew she had to wake him.
"Jacob, Jacob. Wake up hun, please." It took about 3 more tries of this but finally Leah got him awake. "Huh? Leah, what's wrong." Jacob quickly sat up in the bed looking around the room. "Nothing is wrong Jake. You were talking in your sleep. It was something about Nessie. Go check up on her or you'll talk so much I'll never get a decent night's sleep." She made a big production of re fluffing her pillow so he wouldn't see how much it was killing her to say this to him.
"Yeah Lees, you're prolly right. I'll talk to you later?" She watched him put his shorts back on knowing this was the last time he would ever be her's like this again. "Yeah Jake, I'll be here." She forced herself to giggle, though it was the last thing she felt like doing at the moment. And with that he was gone. Out of her bed and out of her life in the way he had been for the last four years.
After an hour Leah gave up on hoping sleep would ever come for her. So she got up and headed into her kitchen and decided to get caught up on the dishes she had left in the sink. She washed them by hand wanting to use up as much time and energy as possible. Hoping it would keep her mind off her present situation.
It didn't work.
So she turned on the radio, why it was on a country station, Leah had no idea. "Damn little brother prolly thought he was being funny." But the song that started caught her ear. And when Leah really listened she knew exactly what the young woman was feeling. Hell with just a change of the name from "Jolene" to "Nessie" it was her life as it was unfolding.
Nessie, Nessie, Nessie, Nessie I'm begging of you, please don't take my man
(I know he wasn't mine to begin with) Nessie, Nessie, Nessie, Nessie
Please don't take him just because you can
Your beauty is beyond compare
With flaming locks of auburn hair
With ivory skin and eyes of chocolate brown (Of course you had to have your mom's eyes. It was what drove Jake crazy when he was going after Bella too.)
Your smile is like a breath of spring
Your voice is soft like summer rain
And I cannot compete with you, Nessie (No matter how hard I want to.)
He talks about you in his sleep
And there's nothing I can do to keep
From crying when he calls your name, Nessie
(And cry I did. I just refused to let them see the light of day.)
But I can easily understand
How you could easily take my man
(Who am I to fight the power of an imprint.) But you don't know what he means to me, Nessie (Do I even know what Jacob really means to me?)
Nessie, Nessie, Nessie, Nessie I'm begging of you, please don't take my man
Nessie, Nessie, Nessie, Nessie
Please don't take him just because you can
You could have your choice of men (I see the way people star at Nessie. Even if Jake and Nessie refuse to see it.)
But I could never love again
He's the only one for me, Nessie (I know that now. No matter what else happens in life, Jacob Black was suppose to be mine.)
I had to have this talk with you
My happiness depends on you
And whatever you decide to do, Nessie
The tears came freely down Leah's face as she sang along to the song that was now her life.
Nessie, Nessie, Nessie, Nessie
I'm begging of you, please don't take my man
Nessie, Nessie, Nessie, Nessie
Please don't take him just because you can
Nessie, Nessie, Nessie, Nessie
I'm begging of you, please don't take my man
Nessie, Nessie, Nessie, Nessie
Please don't take him even though you can
Nessie, Nessie (Please……)
And there, sitting on the floor of her kitchen, Leah Clearwater cried. She cried for the love she lost, the love that was never really her's to begin with. And once she was all cried out she wiped her eyes and stood up. She would never cry for him again, she would tell him how happy she was for them. No one would know her pain. No matter how long it would last.